A Complicated Response
by Dixie Dewdrop
Summary: When one of Tony and Abby's schemes goes amiss, they are treated to an unpleasant response from Gibbs.    This is part of my Here and Now series.
1. Anticipation

Anticipation

Tony and Abby were waiting morosely in her inner office within the NCIS forensics lab. Abby sat tensely in the chair in front of the computer, while Tony was sitting on her desk, swinging his legs nervously.

"He was frothing mad," she spoke quietly, twisting one pigtail around her index finger.

"That's an understatement, Baby Girl," Tony responded, and then grimaced. "I seriously thought he was going to rip me apart before we could get back here."

Their eyes met and Abby shook her head and spoke sadly, "You know you're going to get it when he doesn't even yell, but gets that 'you are going to regret your stupid actions' look on his face."

"I know," Tony agreed, then settled more firmly on the desk while the duo lapsed into an uncomfortable, painful silence. They had been waiting, as per instructions, for Gibbs to come down to deal with them. Both Tony and Abby had experienced the wrath of their boss firsthand, more than once, and had privately decided that the worst punishments were handed down after Gibbs had ordered them to a time out kind of waiting place before he dealt with them. By now they were realists concerning the mindset of one Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Their immediate future didn't bode well for them.

Five more minutes passed before Abby broke the silence in a tone that she tried to make sound bubbly and cheerful. "Well, at least he didn't bust us in front of Timmy and Ziva, so we won't be embarrassed having them witness us get it. I'd rather have him yell at us here, rather than in the bullpen. Actually, if I had my druthers, I would want this to take place at home."

Tony opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted by the ding of the elevator, the signal that Gibbs was finally there. Both straightened immediately and leapt to their feet as their mentor, boss, and surrogate father strode angrily and determinedly into the room. He didn't waste time with social niceties.

"Sit down, both of you!" he ordered in his no nonsense voice, and they scrambled to obey, flying back into their previous seats. "Look right here at me and don't move and don't open your mouths until I give you permission!"

The two miscreants obeyed immediately, cringing when they saw the anger reflected in their boss's expression. Tony's stomach began to knot and Abby's eyes filled with tears. Noting their apprehension, Jethro hardened his heart, nevertheless, and ignored their stricken looks as he lit in angrily with a blistering lecture. "I have never been so ashamed of either of you, or so disappointed in either of you as I was today. You two have just proven to me that yes, it is possible for two seemingly intelligent adults to actually conduct themselves more immaturely than a pair of five year olds! How do you think I felt when I was told that you two had concocted a scheme which resulted in both of you nearly ending up incarcerated? No- allow me to answer that for you- I was stunned that my faith in you had been misguided!"

That connected with both Tony and Abby, who relished their boss's approval and worked hard to earn it. Neither one could recall having ever gotten him so angry in the past. His words were crushing, but justified. They glanced at each other guiltily, and Abby cleared her throat, "Gibbs..."

"Did I tell you to speak?" he demanded, turning a steely gaze her way. She knew better than to respond to that verbally, so shook her head instead. Unable to stop them, tears started falling and she wiped at her eyes with the sleeve of her blouse.

Gibbs swung his gaze towards Tony, but the young man shook his head as well, not willing to risk oral communication either. He looked down at the floor instead, and bit the edge of his lip.

Gibbs took a deep breath and counted to ten, slowly, trying to control his emotions. He was angry, really angry, but the recipients of his anger deserved experiencing his displeasure, nonetheless. He, Tony, and Abby had begun to function as a family unit years before, and in the intervening time his love and affection had intensified for these surrogate children. It had been difficult for them to pierce his armour and work their way into his heart, but they had managed to do it. Despite his natural reluctance to overtly display his affection, they were well aware of how he felt towards them, and the feeling was genuinely reciprocated. Therefore, his fury today was understandable, in light of his determination to protect them and keep them from harm.


	2. Explanation

Explanation

The problem had begun with a crime scene the NCIS team had encountered several days before. While in the field investigating the death of a petty officer, the team was convinced that the victim's neighbours were running an illegal dog fighting ring. Puppies of all ages were present in the back yard, all with evidence of bruising, injuries, and cuts. This was ascertained when Tony, while Gibbs was otherwise occupied inside and couldn't see him to reprimand him, took it upon himself to scale the bordering fence and assess the whimpering that he heard from the hidden side of the enclosure.

Horrified at what he surmised was occurring, he made his way to the NCIS legal department as soon as the team returned to headquarters and Gibbs was otherwise occupied. There he was assured that it would be possible to manufacture (by calling in a favour) a search warrant for the next door house and property, but it would take at least a few days. Upset with the delay, Tony made his way to the forensics lab and confided his suspicions and concerns to Abby, who immediately agreed that action needed to be swift to save the innocent pups. They spent the rest of the afternoon working up a plan of action, and once home from the agency and at the house of Gibbs, they moved.

"Hey Abby," Tony sang out in a deliberately casual tone after dinner while they cleaned up the kitchen. "I was thinking of running up to the music store for a few minutes. Why don't you join me and keep me company?"

Both sneaked looks at Gibbs, who was directing his attention to filling the coffee filter with fresh grounds to brew an after supper pot of coffee.

"Ok, I guess," Abby answered, trying to sound reluctant. "But you know when we get in the music store we never want to leave. It's a school night."

"Yeah, but we'll just set our cell alarms to activate in a couple of hours, and then we won't stay too long or forget what time it is."

Hearing "alarm" and "stay too long" in the same sentence, Gibbs swung his head up and issued firm instructions. "You are not going anywhere and staying all night. You know that. Both of you have work tomorrow."

"No, Gibbs, we're just going to the music store for a couple of hours. We should be back by nine or so," Abby reassured, slipping over to kiss him on the cheek. His expression softened and she continued, "We want to listen to some of the new cd's."

Tony nodded in agreement, and Gibbs grinned and decided it was ok. "Yeah, all right then, go and enjoy yourselves." It was good for the two to have some time together to just enjoy an activity, to brush off some of the stess of the workday. Their job responsibilities in no way allowed tranquillity to pervade NCIS. Besides that, the two shared an almost sibling bond with each other. That meant that a fair amount of the time they were devoted to getting each other into trouble with Gibbs. It would be refreshing to have them actually spend some quality time together where they weren't competing for his attention or approval. He smiled at them both.

They left immediately, and headed straight to the home of the murdered petty officer. Parking a few houses down, they crept through the neighbour's bushes, then into the front and back yards of the crime scene house. Finally, they skirted the yellow police tape which acted as an informal fence. With darkness to hide him, Tony crept to the back of the area and scaled the boards of the privacy fence. After slipping over the side and into the yard of puppies, he motioned to Abby, who was hanging over the top, her body half in one yard and half in the other. The dogs barely acknowledged the intruders, but seemed resigned to more unwelcome visitors. Tony could see no one home in the dog owner's house, nor could he detect any movement. He signalled Abby and she hurried back to the car, where earlier they had loaded a box with some old towels and bedding they'd gathered. Racing back through the darkened backyard, she whispered excitedly, "I'm ready, Tony! Initiate Operation Rescue Pups!"

With that, they began loading the puppies, Tony carefully picking each one up and handing it over the fence and into Abby's waiting arms. Their intention was to take the animals to a local shelter where they both had volunteered as walkers several Saturdays the year before. Privately, they had agreed to pay the cost themselves to get the pups spayed and neutered at the refuge. The dogs appeared to range in age from six or so weeks to several months. Tony handed each one gingerly over the fence and Abby carefully placed it in the box, kissing each on the nose and naming the furry creatures as she got them. "Hello, Al, and Beau, and Cleo, and Demi..."

They were on the sixth puppy when Abby was suddenly blinded by a flashlight beam aimed directly in her eyes, and paralyzed by a shouted order to not move or she would be tased on the spot.


	3. Justification

Justification

From that point, the evening just disintegrated into a nightmare. Police had been called by concerned neighbours across the street who had noticed suspicious activity and were understandably worried. Tony and Abby were hauled to the local precinct headquarters, where they attempted to explain, to unsympathetic ears, their mission of mercy. The Police Captain stared at them appraisingly for several minutes before he finally recalled them as being part of team Gibbs from NCIS. The Captain had worked with their boss a couple of times in the past year, and remembering how tough their team leader was, couldn't believe that they had pulled such an ill conceived stunt.

They were lambasted for their assumptions and lack of proof, and threatened with charges of trespassing and theft. After a half hour Abby was crying hysterically. Tony drummed his fingers against the table and tried to rehearse calming responses to the fury he would experience from Gibbs when the boss found out what they had done. The Captain finally shook his head and decided to end the torment, but not without a couple of minutes more of a tirade added about the stupidity of taking the law in their own hands as his terrifying conclusion. He promised them that he would personally charge them both if he heard of their setting foot anywhere near the street where the dogs lived. One of his deputies would take them back to their car, but that would be their last glimpse of that street and that neighbourhood. Finally, answering their silent prayers and repeated pleas for leniency, he turned them loose.

The second they got home and into the safety of the house Abby raced upstairs to shower, knowing Gibbs would suspect they had been up to something if he saw she had been crying. Luckily, Gibbs was working in the basement, and Tony was able to just call down the steps that they were home. A few more minutes gave him courage, and when Jethro finally came upstairs and saw Tony sprawled on the sofa watching television, nothing appeared amiss. Joining Tony and Gibbs downstairs a half hour later, however, Abby fought to quell her nervousness. They managed to sit companionably until bedtime, without letting Gibbs on to the evening's terrifying events. They were safe and finally exchanged relieved glances. As they made their way upstairs to bed Tony mimicked tapping Abby under the chin, and she smiled back triumphantly.

That had been two weeks before.

When the next day passed without incident, and the next, the two accepted that they were in the clear. They relaxed, and pushed the reminders of that evening into the backs of their memories. Unfortunately, several days later NCIS and the local police ended up at a crime scene together. As luck would have it, the policeman in charge was none other than Tony and Abby's Police Captain. As soon as Tony saw the man and recognized him, he tried to unobtrusively get out of the officer's sight. Nevertheless, the captain spotted him, nodded, and made his way purposefully to Gibbs. Tony watched helplessly as the policeman addressed his boss, then turned in Tony's direction. Jethro's head swung in Tony's direction, as well, and he narrowed his gaze at his senior field agent- meaningfully. Tony knew that look, unfortunately. He was definitely in for it when they got back to NCIS. He hurriedly turned back to working the new crime scene, but as the investigation concluded, his boss came up beside him, grabbed him by the arm, and ordered, "Go straight to Abby's lab when we get back, Anthony, and don't either of you move from there until I deal with you."

All he could do was answer, "Got it, Boss."


	4. Realization

Realization

That brought the three to the present confrontation in the office. Abby was crying but trying to regulate her breathing, and spoke between her sobs, "We're sorry, Gibbs, but we just really wanted to save those little puppies."

Gibbs slammed his palms down on the desk, leaned towards them, and sighed with frustration. Then he raised his voice. "The puppies are fine, Abby, because the captain busted the dog ring that very night. I'm not mad because you two have good hearts and tried to save those dogs. That is not why I am so upset. I am angry because of the way you did it- the lying, the conniving, the law breaking, the taking matters into your own hands. Do you realize that you put your jobs here in jeopardy when you got dragged down to the police station for questioning? I have seen agents fired for being hauled to a police station!"

Tony spoke quietly, "We were thinking more along the lines of saving the dogs, like they did in the _One Hundred and One Dalmations_ movie produced by Disney. Remember the puppies were kidnapped by Cruella DeVille?" Noting that Jethro's fury was rising again, he quickly amended, "Boss, you're right. We didn't think it through very well."

"That, Anthony, is the understatement of the year!"

Another long silence filled the room, punctuated with hiccups from Abby, who was trying to finish her crying episode, and Tony's nervous shuffling from foot to foot.

"Ok," Gibbs finally spoke. "Both of you look at me." They did as instructed, and he was struck at how miserable they looked. Nevertheless, he steeled himself to remain firm, knowing from experience that what really made an impression with them was when he acted as a parent and dealt with them from that perspective. That approach always brought about the desired results.

He addressed Tony first.

"Tony, since I obviously can not trust you to discriminate between something that is or isn't your jurisdiction, you are going to spend the next two work weeks on desk duty. You will not go out in the field, you will not investigate, and you will do nothing apart from paperwork for those ten days. You are not to leave your desk after you arrive in the morning, except to use the restroom, or to depart at the end of the workday. You will not visit autopsy, and you will not visit the lab. Am I completely clear about these nots?'

Tony groaned loudly and Abby flinched in sympathy. That would kill Tony. He hated paperwork, and lived to get outdoors. Gibbs only gave him a desk duty punishment when he felt the offense was exceptionally egregious. Tony's first one had been right after Gibbs hired him. It was for three days, and that nearly drove Tony crazy. He couldn't imagine the present torture of two weeks of desk duty. "Boss, please, no, I am sorry. Please don't make..."

Gibbs held up his hand for silence and interrupted sternly, "Tony, it's not open for compromise! It would appear that since you are so upset when you are confined to your desk that you would have made sure you did nothing to earn that consequence, now wouldn't it? Once again, am I perfectly clear about what you are to do?"

Tony nodded miserably and Gibbs turned to Abby.

"You, young lady, are not in my sight during the workday unless I come down here. Since I can't keep an eye on you down here, I am going to have to change the location. Therefore, your two weeks of restriction are going to take place at home. You are not going to go anywhere except to NCIS or home, no stores, no bowling, no friends, no entertainment, no dates, no nothing. You will be in the house from 5:15 in the afternoon until 8:45 each morning, and your rear end will be sitting at home both weekends. Do you understand me?"

"Gibbs, that's too much punishment!" she cried out, hoping to sway his decision. "You are going to kill me with this!"

"Again, this is not up for debate, Abbs, and you, young lady, are not in position to call a punishment too harsh. Had you been charged and thrown in jail, that would have been harsh. Now once again, are you clear on your restriction?" This time Abby shook her head tragically but didn't bother to respond verbally.

Realizing that his punishments had fit the crime, Gibbs softened his tone and again ordered them both to look at him so that he had their full attention. When they did, he continued, shifting his gaze from one to the other. "This was that big a deal and I am that angry with both of you. If there is one smidgen of a problem with either of you obeying your restrictions, I am going to make sure that what you get in response is going to be far more uncomfortable for you instead. Do you understand what I mean or should I clarify?"

Both nodded their comprehension, and he finished, just as emotionally drained as they were. "Now, I want both of you to get your things together, and head straight home right now. When I call the house phone a half hour from now I had better hear verbal responses from each one of you. You're spending the rest of this afternoon and evening in your rooms."

With that, he turned and strode out.

They waited for the ding of the elevator before they finally looked at each other.

"Ouch," Tony assessed.

"No, double ouch," Abby corrected.

Heading back to the bullpen Jethro leaned against the back wall of the elevator and closed his eyes, then pinched the bridge of his nose. Life had gotten so much more confusing since he had allowed Tony and Abby into his heart, and into his home, and into his life. Opening his eyes slowly, he thought about his response to the puppy incident, and their subsequent emotional replies, and realized that his reactions would always be fuelled by his love for them. Life had definitely gotten more complicated.


End file.
